XSReviews

AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2

Software

The software that comes with the mini 2 is the same as you get with the HD2 1TB except that due to the lack of interior storage, the top three options “movies, music and photo” only become active once you plug in a portable drive of some kind. At this point it is scanned, and the media files are added to their respective sections, as well as the recently added ones below.

Other than that, the system behaves the same as the 1TB HD2.

AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2
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However, one feature I havn’t covered in my previous reviews (though it was present in all AC Ryan products, my apologies) is the Jukebox function. This allows for a quick indexing of all your movies, with names, thumbnails and data automatically added by the system. It requires a bit of setting up (needs to be done on your PC) and some time to index everything, but once it’s done the results are pretty cool.

AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2
Click to Enlarge

Now while with the mini 2 you need to be connected to the local network via wireless or wired connection to access this, the results are excellent. Here you have the YAMJ (Yet Another Media Jukebox) which indexes all your movies, categorises and provides easy searching opportunities.

AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2
Click to Enlarge

Now, scrolling through all these movies isn’t the quickest way of doing things. Indeed the HD2 on a whole isn’t the quickest line of devices out there. However, I’ve been told that a new firmware is being released this week that speeds things up a lot. I’ll report back when it’s out.

AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2
Click to Enlarge

Unfortunately the Jukebox isn’t perfect. Sometimes it mistakes what a movie is, since it only has the file name and a few details to go on to help decipher what’s what. Here apparently it though that Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest romp was infact “The Dress Code” about a young boy called Bruno.

AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2
Click to Enlarge

It also thought Terminator 2: Judgement day was the 80s B movie, Exterminator 2. Not so I’m afraid.

One notable missing feature is the Torrent option. No point in downloading a torrent when it has nowhere to be stored.

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6 responses to “AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2”

  1. Jan Vissers avatar
    Jan Vissers

    As a satisfied user of the old AC Ryan Playon! HD MINI1 “I wanted to buy new equipment because the gigabit data stream over my gigabit network, and thus the ‘heavy’ files to my TV set could stream without faltering.

    But what happens is that a downgrade rather than purchasing an upgrade.

    The menu where you must scroll through file consists of large icons, which only 8 fit on your screen.
    So, if you have many files in a folder, it may leave you a long scroll until you have found the correct file.
    (There is a ‘list’ button on the remote, but this is a detour, and not at all practical)

    Also it goes very wrong with the subtitles of mkv video files.
    The unit takes the first .srt-file from the folder, regardless of the video file. So you should always manually add your subtitle manually via the configuration sub-menu. (The name of video and subtitle are always identical, with no spaces or dots)
    The previous ‘Playon! HD MINI1 “I had it two years in my possession, I’ve never had this problem.

    Also the sound goes mute, and you can hit a few times forward and backward, to get the sound back.

    At first I thought it were beginners flaws of a new device, but these problems have existed since February 2010, and AC Ryan has still not be able to correct these problems through firmware updates.
    I’m looking for another media-player, because this unit is a bad buy overall. This unit has won prizes, but many buyers experiencing the same problems as me.

    Reply
  2. Jimbo avatar
    Jimbo

    This review is unacceptable. The main use of this product is streaming HD content. And you dont even test it and even say “If you don’t want wired, it can manage 300MB/s wireless with an optionally purchased wireless dongle. I doubt it’ll do 1080p at those speeds, but 720p might be possible.” True, the wireless dongle has to be purchased seperately, but every semi-decent review should test it. And you also provide wrong info since it DOES in fact stream 1080p without any stutter or lag (the original Playon HD could not over wireless).

    Reply
    1. Whoopty avatar
      Whoopty

      Thanks for the pointers Jimbo. We’ll take it on board and try and improve our next review.

      Reply
  3. Phil Roe avatar
    Phil Roe

    Purchased the AC Ryan Playon!HD Mini 2 with the wireless dongle
    WLAN 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps via USB WLAN adaptor.

    I am having trouble getting it to work. I have followed the set-up manual and am running it through a wireless network connection. PC with NETGEAR WN311B to a NETGEAR Wireless N-300 Modem Router DGN2200.

    What else do I need to do to get it to stream?

    Reply
    1. Whoopty avatar
      Whoopty

      Have you setup your network connection through the settings menu?

      Reply
  4. Jeff Sherwin avatar
    Jeff Sherwin

    No Ogg. No Way.

    Reply

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